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OpenAI logo seen on screen with ChatGPT website displayed on mobile seen in this illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on December 12, 2022.

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images

You may have heard the recent buzz around ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that was released to the public at the end of November. I’ve read about people using the service to write their school essays and I was curious as to how it could help me in my daily life.

The technology was developed by OpenAI, a research company backed by Microsoft and others. ChatGPT automatically generates text based on written prompts in an advanced and creative way. It can even carry out a conversation that feels pretty close to one you’d have with a human being.

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ChatGPT homepage.

This got me wondering — is ChatGPT smart enough to change how we find information online? Could it someday replace Google and other search engines?

Some Google employees are certainly worried about the possibility, At a company all-hands last week, CNBC’s Jen Elias reported, employees recently asked execs if an AI-chatbot like ChatGPT was a “missed opportunity” for the company.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Jeff Dean, the long-time head of Google’s AI division, responded by saying that the company has similar capabilities, but that the cost if something goes wrong would be greater because people have to trust the answers they get from Google.

Morgan Stanley published a report on the topic on Monday, Dec. 12 examining whether ChatGPT is a threat to Google. Brian Nowak, the bank’s lead analyst on Alphabet, wrote that language models could take market share “and disrupt Google’s position as the entry point for people on the Internet.”

However, Nowak said the firm is still confident in Google’s position because the company is continuing to improve search, and creating behavioral change is a huge hurdle — a lot of internet users use Google as a habit. Additionally, Google is “building similar natural language models such as LaMDA” which could find their way into new products.

For now, OpenAI’s creators are cautious about making any big claims. Generally speaking, the more users employ ChatGPT, the better it gets. But it still has a lot to learn. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a tweet on Dec. 10 that ChatGPT is “incredibly limited” and “it’s a mistake to be relying on it for anything important right now.”

Either way, I wanted to see how well the chatbot would work as an alternative to Google’s search engine. Instead of Googling my questions throughout the day, I asked ChatGPT.

Here are some of the questions I asked and how ChatGPT responded compared with Google.

ChatGPT vs. Google

It’s easy to sign up for ChatGPT — all you need is an email address. Once you’ve registered, the webpage is very simple to navigate. There’s an area where your results will populate and a text box where you’ll type your inquiries. OpenAI says to put in a statement for the best possible result.

I recently purchased my second Fiddle Leaf Fern plant for my apartment because the first one died. Now the new one is dying after just a few days. I normally would have asked Google what to do.

Instead, I asked ChatGPT. “How can I keep my Fiddle Leaf Fern plant alive?”

The results lined up with the instructions I received from the plant company, Easy Plant, which is where I bought the new Fiddle Leaf Fern. I also liked that I didn’t have to go to various different websites like I would have if I’d Googled this question.

When I Googled the same question, the top result gave me detailed instructions in an article that included pop-up ads and a way more information than I needed, like links to buy new soil.

Winner: ChatGPT.

Next, I tried something where more shopping links would actually have been beneficial. I am still trying to find a present for all 8 nights of Hanukkah for my husband, so I decided to ask ChatGPT for some ideas.

I didn’t give it any information about my husband, besides the fact that the gifts were for Hanukkah. The chatbot then assumed that my husband is kosher and that he’s into tech and watches. The latter isn’t wrong, but it’s not the answers I was hoping for.

When I Googled this question I got access to hundreds of articles with different gift ideas and links to websites. For example I got ads to Lululemon and Bombas, which are both companies I’ve used to buy him gifts before. So in this case, Google used its personalized knowledge of me to find more targeted results from around the web.

Winner: Google

Next, I decided to ask ChatGPT a question with higher stakes.

“Is it safe to take Benadryl while pregnant?” I am currently expecting my first child, and I know that taking Benadryl is safe in pregnancy based on information I’ve received from my doctor. Still, I wanted to see what the chatbot would say.

I appreciated that ChatGPT gave me the correct answer, while also noting the importance of consulting a doctor before taking any medications during pregnancy.

When I Googled the same medical question, the results were all over the place. At quick glance, one article from TheBump.com quoted a doctor saying “Generally, it’s safe to take Benadryl in the first trimester.” While other results said similar information to what I received on ChatGPT, without the explicit warning to discuss with my healthcare provider (unless clicking into a specific link).

Winner: ChatGPT

Could it replace me?

One of the claims (or concerns) around ChatGPT — and artificial intelligence in general — is that it will replace human workers.

So I decided to see if ChatGPT could write this article for me.

The results were pretty astonishing. Here’s what the chatbot said after I told it to “write an article about whether or not ChatGPT is a good alternative to Google as a search engine.”

As a large language model trained by OpenAI, I am not capable of conducting research or browsing the internet to gather information on ChatGPT or other search engines. I am only able to provide information based on what I have been trained on, which is limited to the knowledge that was available up until my training cutoff date of 2021.

With that being said, it is worth considering the potential advantages and disadvantages of using ChatGPT as a search engine compared to other options, such as Google. One potential advantage of using ChatGPT as a search engine is that it is able to provide more personalized and conversational results.

Because ChatGPT is a language model, it is able to understand and respond to natural language queries, allowing users to ask questions and receive answers in a more intuitive and human-like way. This can make the search experience more engaging and interactive, and may be especially useful for users who have specific or complex information needs.

On the other hand, there are also potential limitations to using ChatGPT as a search engine. Because it is a large language model and not a traditional search engine, ChatGPT may not have access to the same breadth and depth of information as other search engines. This means that it may not be able to provide as comprehensive or up-to-date results, and may not be as effective for certain types of searches, such as those that require a large amount of data or real-time information.

In conclusion, whether or not ChatGPT is a good alternative to Google as a search engine will depend on the specific needs and preferences of the user. It may be a useful option for those who value a more personalized and conversational search experience, but it may not be as comprehensive or effective for certain types of searches. Ultimately, the decision to use ChatGPT or another search engine will depend on the individual user’s needs and preferences.

What impressed me most about ChatGPT’s response is that it was pretty subjective and explained its limitations.

The verdict

ChatGPT’s value really lies in its ability to explain complicated topics as if you were talking to a human, and to do simple writing tasks.

For example, I asked ChatGPT to explain concepts like the stock market and internet to me, and the responses were as if I was talking to an expert on the matter. Unlike the case on Google, I didn’t have to filter through unnecessary results.

I also asked it to write a letter to my landlord asking for an early end to my lease, and I’d be happy sending the results directly to my landlord, almost word for word.

On the other hand, Google knows more about us and tailors the results to our interests and behaviors. Google also acts as a gateway to the internet, leading users to a plethora of different websites with more information than one could possibly digest. That’s helpful if you want a range of voices, or if there’s no single simple answer to your question — like if you’re looking for gift suggestions.

Google is also great for certain types of questions where it scours the web to provide a brief but simple answer right in line. For instance, if you search “Apple stock ticker” or “Cheap flights to Aruba,” it will show you a ticker chart with up-to-the-minute price info, or a calendar with the most likely cheapest days to fly and a dialog box that connects you to multiple web sites to shop for tickets on your chosen date. ChatGPT does not scan the internet for real-time information, and has only been trained on data through 2021, so it’s totally useless on these kinds of queries.

And sometimes, ChatGPT is strangely close yet totally wrong. My editor asked it for the lyrics to “The Ballad of Dwight Fry” by Alice Cooper. It somehow knew the song was about a man having a mental breakdown, but then returned completely invented lyrics about that subject, rather than the actual lyrics. Google nailed it.

Google is also incredibly reliable, thanks to the company’s massive operations budget and years of expertise. ChatGPT is still in testing and goes down from time to time.

So I’ll definitely continue using Google for most of my search queries for now. But if I’m not happy with the results, now I have a useful alternative. And if I ever need to dash off an angry letter, ChatGPT could be a huge help there.

The Rise of ChatGPT: Game changer or gimmick?

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Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments on challenge to TikTok ban

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Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments on challenge to TikTok ban

Tik Tok creators gather before a press conference to voice their opposition to the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” pending crackdown legislation on TikTok in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 12, 2024.

Craig Hudson | Reuters

The Supreme Court on Friday will hear oral arguments in the case involving the future of TikTok in the U.S., which could ban the popular app as soon as next week.

The justices will consider whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, the law that targets TikTok’s ban and imposes harsh civil penalties for app “entities” that continue to carry the service after Jan.19, violates the U.S. Constitution’s free speech protections.

It’s unclear when the court will hand down a decision, and if China’s ByteDance continues to refuse to divest TikTok to an American company, it faces a complete ban nationwide.

What will change about the user experience?

The roughly 115 million U.S. TikTok monthly active users could face a range of scenarios depending on when the Supreme Court hands down a decision.

If no word comes before the law takes effect on Jan. 19 and the ban goes through, it’s possible that users would still be able to post or engage with the app if they already have it downloaded. However, those users would likely be unable to update or redownload the app after that date, multiple legal experts said.

Thousands of short-form video creators who generate income from TikTok through ad revenue, paid partnerships, merchandise and more will likely need to transition their businesses to other platforms, like YouTube or Instagram.

“Shutting down TikTok, even for a single day, would be a big deal, not just for people who create content on TikTok, but everyone who shares or views content,” said George Wang, a staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute who helped write the institute’s amicus briefs on the case. 

“It sets a really dangerous precedent for how we regulate speech online,” Wang said.

Who supports and opposes the ban?

Dozens of high-profile amicus briefs from organizations, members of Congress and President-elect Donald Trump were filed supporting both the government and ByteDance.

The government, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, alleges that until ByteDance divests TikTok, the app remains a “powerful tool for espionage” and a “potent weapon for covert influence operations.”

Trump’s brief did not voice support for either side, but it did ask the court to oppose banning the platform and allow him to find a political resolution that allows the service to continue while addressing national security concerns. 

The short-form video app played a notable role in both Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ presidential campaigns in 2024, and it’s one of the most common news sources for younger voters.

In a September Truth Social post, Trump wrote in all caps Americans who want to save TikTok should vote for him. The post was quoted in his amicus brief. 

What comes next?

It appears TikTok could really get shut down, says Jim Cramer

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Nvidia’s tiny $3,000 computer steals the show at CES

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Nvidia's tiny ,000 computer steals the show at CES

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks about Project Digits personal AI supercomputer for researchers and students during a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 6, 2025. Gadgets, robots and vehicles imbued with artificial intelligence will once again vie for attention at the Consumer Electronics Show, as vendors behind the scenes will seek ways to deal with tariffs threatened by US President-elect Donald Trump. The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opens formally in Las Vegas on January 7, 2025, but preceding days are packed with product announcements. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was greeted as a rock star this week CES in Las Vegas, following an artificial intelligence boom that’s made the chipmaker the second most-valuable company in the world.

At his nearly two-hour keynote on Monday kicking off the annual conference, Huang packed a 12,000-seat arena, drawing comparisons to the way Steve Jobs would reveal products at Apple events.

Huang concluded with an Apple-like trick: a surprise product reveal. He presented one of Nvidia’s server racks and, using some stage magic, held up a much smaller version, which looked like a tiny cube of a computer.

“This is an AI supercomputer,” Huang said, while donning an alligator skin leather jacket. “It runs the entire Nvidia AI stack. All of Nvidia’s software runs on this.”

Huang said the computer is called Project Digits and runs off a relative of the Grace Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) that are currently powering the most advanced AI server clusters. The GPU is paired with an ARM-based Grace central processing unit (CPU). Nvidia worked with Chinese semiconductor company MediaTek to create the system-on-a chip called GB10.

Formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, CES is typically the spot to launch flashy and futuristic consumer gadgets. At this year’s show, which started on Tuesday and wraps up on Friday, several companies announced AI integrations with appliances, laptops and even grills. Other major announcements included a laptop from Lenovo which has a rollable screen that can expand vertically. There were also new robots, including a Roomba competitor with a robotic arm.

CES 2025: AI Tech on Display

Unlike Nvidia’s traditional GPUs for gaming, Project Digits isn’t targeting consumers. instead, it’s aimed at machine learning researchers, smaller companies, and universities that want to developed advanced AI but don’t have the billions of dollars to build massive data centers or buy enough cloud credits.

“There’s a gaping hole for data scientists and ML researchers and who are actively working, who are actively building something,” Huang said. “Maybe you don’t need a giant cluster. You’re just developing the early versions of the model, and you’re iterating constantly. You could do it in the cloud, but it just costs a lot more money.”

The supercomputer will cost about $3,000 when it becomes available in May, Nvidia said, and will be available from the company itself as well as some of its manufacturing partners. Huang said Project Digits is a placeholder name, indicating it may change by the time the computer goes on sale.

“If you have a good name for it, reach out to us,” Huang said.

Diversifying its business

The Nvidia Project Digits supercomputer during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. 

Bridget Bennett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“It was a little scary to see Nvidia come out with something so good for so little in price,” Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes wrote in a note this week. He said Nvidia may have “stolen the show,” due to Project Digits as well other announcements including graphics cards for gaming, new robot chips and a deal with Toyota.

Project Digits, which runs Linux and the same Nvidia software used on the company’s GPU server clusters, represents a huge increase in capabilities for researchers and universities, said David Bader, director of the Institute for Data Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Bader, who has worked on research projects with Nvidia in the past, said the computer appears to be able to handle enough data and information to train the biggest and most cutting-edge models. He told CNBC Anthropic, Google, Amazon and others “would pay $100 million to build a super computer for training” to get a system with these sorts of capabilities.

For $3,000, users can soon get a product they can plug into a standard electrical outlet in their home or office, Bader said. It’s particularly exciting for academics, who have often left for private industry in order to access bigger and more powerful computers, he said.

“Any student who is able to have one of these systems that cost roughly the same as a high-end laptop or gaming laptop, they’ll be able to do the same research and build the same models,” Bader said.

Reitzes said the computer may be Nvidia’s first move into the $50 billion market for PC and laptop chips.

“It’s not too hard to imagine it would be easy to just do it all themselves and allow the system to run Windows someday,” Reitzes wrote. “But I guess they don’t want to step on too many toes.”

Huang didn’t rule out that possibility when asked about it by Wall Street analysts on Tuesday.

He said that MediaTek may be able to sell the GB10 chip to other computer makers in the market. He made sure to leave some mystery in the air.

“Obviously, we have plans,” Huang said.

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Elon Musk promotes far-right Alternative for Germany candidate, hosts discussion on X

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Elon Musk promotes far-right Alternative for Germany candidate, hosts discussion on X

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party, arrives to speak to the media with AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla shortly after the AfD leadership confirmed Weidel as the party’s candidate for chancellor on December 07, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. 

Maryam Majd | Getty Images

Elon Musk used his social network X to promote Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party, known as AfD, hosting a live discussion Thursday with party leader Alice Weidel, a candidate for chancellor, ahead of a general election on Feb. 23.

“I’m really strongly recommending that people vote for AfD,” Musk, who is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX in addition to his role at X, said about a half hour into the conversation. “That’s my strong recommendation.”

The AfD has been classified as a “suspected extremist organization” by German domestic intelligence services. The party’s platform calls for rigid asylum laws, mass deportations, cuts to social and welfare support in Germany, and the reversal of restrictions on combustion engine vehicles.

Thierry Breton, former European Union commissioner for the internal market, said in a Jan. 4 post on X directed at Weidel: “As a European citizen concerned with the proper use of systemic platforms authorized to operate in the EU … especially to protect our democratic rules against illegal or misbehavior during election times, I believe it’s crucial to remind you” that a live discussion on X would give AfD and Weidel “a significant and valuable advantage over your competitors.”

While AfD has amassed about 20% of public support, according to reporting from broadcaster DW, the party is unlikely to form part of a coalition government, as most other parties have vowed not to work with it.

AfD previously protested the build-out of Tesla’s electric vehicle factory outside Berlin, in part because the factory would provide jobs to people who were not German citizens.

Musk’s earlier endorsements of AfD, including tweets complimenting the party and an editorial in a German newspaper, have enraged European government officials. Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, has also endorsed far-right and anti-establishment candidates and causes in the U.K.

Political leaders in France, Germany, Norway and the U.K. denounced his influence, NBC News previously reported, warning that Musk should not involve himself in their countries’ elections. 

Musk, who was one of President-elect Donald Trump’s top backers in November’s election, previously promoted Trump in a live-streamed discussion on X. Before that, he hosted a conversation with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who lost to Trump in the Republican primary.

Weidel during Thursday’s talk asked Musk about what Trump might do to bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to a conclusion, as the president-elect has suggested he could quickly do.

Musk demurred.

“To be clear this is up to President Trump, he is commander and chief, so it’s really up to him,” Musk said. “I don’t want to speak for him but you know I do think that there is a path to a resolution but it does require  strong leadership in the United States to get this done.”

Musk also weighed in on what he thought should be done in Gaza, which has been under attack from Israel since Hamas’ deadly incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“There’s no choice but to eliminate those who wish to eliminate the state of Israel, you know Hamas essentially,” Musk said. “Then, the second step is to fix the education so that Palestinians are not trained from when they are children to hate and want the death of Israel.”

“Then, the third thing, which is also very important, is to make the Palestinian areas prosperous.”

— CNBC’s Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this report.

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